Grandma Lettie Ann Mikesell Hickman

I remember driving down the lane to my Great Grandma Lettie's home and seeing her in the field next to her home, directing some young workers on how to weed. She stood about 4'10" in heels, wearing a dress with a full apron, her hair gently permed into tiny curls . Grandma Lettie lived in Benjamin, Utah. She always wore high heels to appear taller, even though she could not find shoes to fit her tiny feet. So, she bought the smallest size she could find, then stuffed the toes with tissue. When I was in fourth grade I grew taller than my grandma, and could no longer try on her tiny shoes-they just didn't fit, even if I took out the paper stuffing.
Even though my memories were of someone around 80 years old, age did not define Grandma. Her standing in the field was just what we always expected. Lettie was very involved and active in every part of life until she passed away.

Dad did her farming, but she was always watching and helping. She loved my dad and sometimes would came out of her home just to talk with him as he watered or worked. That didn't mean she wouldn't be out doing something she thought needed to be done before he got to the farm.


This photo is of Grandma Lettie, her daughter, Shirley, Shirley's husband, Leon McGarry, and Leon's mother.

Almost every year, Lettie went deer hunting with her "boys". She camped with them and as she got older, rode a tote goat (tiny motorized scooter) around the mountains. We drove up to the camp site the year she was 80 and saw her ride into camp on the tiny tote goat right along side two of her sons with their guns poised on the shoulders. She had been hunting since about 5 am.
Those hunting expeditions always ended with a gory site in the kitchen as they cut up the fresh meat, preparing it for the freezer and cutting it into smaller chunks to bottle.

Each Christmas day she would prepare a family dinner for all of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren living in the area. These are some of my favorite memories. All of the adults would gather in the living room with a few women going into the kitchen to help Grandma. She prepared turkey, ham, venison, and other meats that had been hunted that year. There were lots of potatoes, vegetables from her own farm, homemade rolls with jams she had bottled, and a large variety of homemade pies and cakes for dessert. The adults laughed and talked together all day. My memories are of a very noisy room full of everyone talking and no one listening. They were telling stories that I don't think anyone believed, so the stories got more interesting just to get attention. The children were together in the parlor where there was an old fashioned player piano with many rolls of music. We each took turns selecting a roll of music, then pumping the foot pedals to make the music go fast or slow. A button in front of the keys could also adjust the speed. In the corner of the room there was a large black leather chair cared for by all of us because it was Grandpa Charles' chair and Grandma wanted it to be kept nice. Even though Grandpa had died many years before we would each sit in it once or twice only during the day, so that it could stay nice.

Next to the parlor was a tiny guest bedroom, just large enough for a dresser and a tall, old fashioned full bed, with special homemade quilts and a crocheted bed cover. We all knew the great story of the day Grandma Lettie's mother, Grandma Mikesell died. Grandma Lettie had her at her home, in the guest bedroom, taking care of her. My Grandmother, Delta Hickman was at the home helping. Right before she passed Grandma Mikesell rose her hands high and said, "David Uriah", then died. Both of the women watching were sure that Grandma Mikesell had seen him come to get her. Grandma Delta returned to her home and told the story to her children who have relayed it to all the grandchildren with great drama. My mother, Aylene Christensen always raises her hands as she whispers, "David Uriah".

Grandma Lettie was a marvelous influence in my life, she was the only grandmother I knew, both my mother's and father's mothers had died many years before my parents even met. I admired her in many ways. She always showed that she cared and loved me. Even though she had little money she would find a way to give small gifts to each of us. One year she gave the girls handkerchiefs. I still have mine and used it when I went to the temple to be married. Her example helped me develop much of my testimony. For instance she would get up early to take the bus to the temple in Salt Lake almost every week. There was no freeway then so the ride was at least two hours each way. I believe she may have spent some time in the Salt Lake genealogy library also, I know she did genealogy and have found many submissions with Mrs. C. W. Hickman as the submitter.

Grandma often relied on her patriarchal blessing to help her when many members of her family went inactive in the church. She had been blessed that she would see her family become active in the church. When she died, in 1967-my freshman year in college-most of my cousins were not in the church. Through the years I have watched miracles bring aunts, uncles, cousins and other extended family as they became active members. My testimony of the eternal nature of blessings is strong because of this experience.

I wish my family could know Grandma.

Some first memories

My earliest clear memories were when I was about 3 ½ or 4. Casey is two years and two months younger than I, so that would make him between 1 and 2.

We lived in a small, well loved red brick pioneer home, built in the 1800's by the Christensen pioneers. Our parents, your Grandpa and Grandma Chris, moved into the home when they were married. It was across the dirt lane, now called Christensen Lane, from the home where Grandpa grew up, in Salem, Utah.

Most children’s drawings of houses look like the home we first lived in. The square front had a center door with one window centered on either side. The red bricks were worn; the yard was fenced in with posts and square wire fencing. The gate opened to a thirty foot sidewalk. The center door entered into a large room with a coal burning stove, a cupboard which had been Grandma’s mother’s, a table and chairs, and maybe a couch. This was our main living area. There was also one bedroom with beds for all of us, including a cradle for my dolls and an oil heater. Behind the two rooms was an area I remember as having a dirt floor and steps down to a cellar. Grandma never let us go into those parts of the house because she had seen mice and rats. Off the backroom was an outdoor wooden porch with a pump, a milk separator and a wringer washer.

Notice I never said anything about a sink in the kitchen, a bathroom, or a laundry room. That is because there were none. This was a pioneer house. The water came from a pump on the back porch. Grandma would make a fire in the coal burning stove, go to the pump on the back porch to fill a large pot, carry it back into the house and heat the water on the stove so she could use it to wash dishes. Or she would fill a large tin tub with water and we would all take turns taking our baths in that one tub. The first person got clean water……the very last to use the water was my doll, Cinderella.

Grandma would then put my hair up in rollers, my doll’s hair up in rollers and comb Casey’s hair with a very special style she called a pomp. She would mix sugar and water together and use it to make Casey’s hair stay in place—kind of like a sugar glue. She combed every hair down so it looked neat and smooth, then carefully combed the front section so that it stood up about 1 ½ -2 inches above the place where his hair met his forehead. She would then take the side of her hand and push on the raised section to make a wave. After the wave was just right she would smooth the top of the pomp down towards the back of his head and make the hairs join with the rest of his hair. Every hair was in place, it didn’t matter how hard Casey played, the sugar concoction held his hair so he always had the perfect pomp.

I sometimes wonder it the sugar water hairdos for my brothers had anything to do with the hairdos they both wear now.

I do not have a photo of Casey at this age, but this is a perfect picture of the pomp on Vern when he was about two-probably in 1958 or 1959. I am holding Vern, Casey is on the left. In the background you can see Grandpa Chris (Lynn Christensen), who would have been about 29. My Aunt Ardy is the lady on the right, my step- Grandmother Reva is left of Grandpa Chris.

This picture includes Grandma Chris (Aylene Christensen), also about 29, sitting next to my Great Grandmother Lettie Hickman.